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Trudy stepped out of the car that carried the luggage. There were a lot of bad things about working for the Hockley's, but the opportunity to travel on the maiden voyage of the Titanic was not one of them. She could hear Miss Rose sounding disdainful about the whole thing, but the Titanic was a wonder. It looked longer than the manor house they'd visited while in England, and as tall as the buildings of New York. She just couldn't be as sophisticated as Miss Rose; she looked at it wide-eyed with amazement.
"Do you have my coat, Trudy?" Miss Rose asked, and she hurried to catch up.
"Yes, Miss," she said, quickly walking past the steerage lines towards the first class gangplank.
Mr Lovejoy took care of the paperwork, but the officer welcoming them smiled at them.
"No captain to greet us?" Mr Hockley asked.
"I'm sorry, Sir," the officer said, his voice strong and sure. "He was called away. My name is Murdoch and I'm the First Officer. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know."
Hockley nodded and walked away without a word, a First Officer so far beneath him as to not warrant conversation. Miss Rose and Mrs DeWitt Bukater followed and Trudy had to hurry to keep up again. She glanced over her shoulder at the handsome young man as she walked away and was surprised when he looked in her eyes and smiled.
Trudy was surprised at the amount of time she had free on the ship. She had her normal duties, helping Miss Rose dress, looking after the clothes, serving tea, keeping the rooms tidy. But in a household there was always one more thing: a trip to town to chaperone or a pair of gloves lost among the myriad rooms. Here Miss Rose was always with someone; there were only so many places her gloves could be.
So Trudy walked the ship.
She walked the deck of the steerage area, speaking idly to real people, and smiling to herself at the difference between her employer and his fiancée and little Cora, whose face lit up when her dad held her to the railing. Or Tommy Ryan, in his arrogant Irishness. And Jack and Fabrizio, who had won their tickets in a game of cards. Jack, who looked up at Miss Rose with such interest in his face.
She would have warned him off, told him how cruel Mr Hockley could be, but Mr Murdoch walked onto the deck then and she was distracted by his smile.
"Miss Trudy," he said as he walked past and she startled at the sound of her name on his lips. How did he ever learn it?
"Mr Murdoch," she replied uneasily as she bobbed a little curtsey.
"May I escort you back to the Hockley stateroom?"
"Of course," she said. And that was how she met Mr Murdoch.
It wasn't that Will hadn't stepped out with a maid before. He didn't make a habit of it but he'd certainly strolled the decks of other ships with other young women, and knew the places to go when he was in port. But Trudy was different. Trudy was the one his mother had told him would come along one day and convince him to give up the sea.
They had set sail on the tenth and his heart had clenched at her small smile. On the eleventh, he'd walked her to her deck. The twelfth saw them standing on the prow in the moonlight as he stole a gentle kiss. And it was the thirteenth when he decided it was time to settle down.
She'd looked shocked, of course. It was all happening so quickly. But on the fourteenth she'd come to him with a tale of a violent master and broken glass and her Miss Rose being hurt.
"Let me take you away from all that," he'd said.
"I'm saying yes because I want to be with you, not because I want to escape them."
"As long as you're saying yes."
He'd threaded his fingers through her hair then, pulling it from the neat knot it was wound into and letting it flow over her shoulders. Her lips were soft, and opened innocently to his, a soft sigh escaping as they did. He pulled her close, careful to be gentle. Careful not to scare her away.
He would have pressed for more, would have run a thumb across her soft breast or pressed a thigh between her legs, but they both had responsibilities. He could wait now that he knew she would be his before long.
The seas were calm on the night of April fourteenth. It made icebergs hard to spot.
Will was in charge of the bridge, still cold despite the gloves and overcoat he wore. He was passing the time thinking of Trudy and how warm he'd be if he was beside her. They'd spent the morning in a private spot he knew, just holding each other and talking of their future. He had a small amount set aside; perhaps enough for a new start out west.
He stood on the bridge, looking out the window at a young couple kissing on deck. He felt a smile crease his face; that would be he and Trudy come morn.
That was when they struck the iceberg.
People often forgot when their help was in the room. Trudy saw Mr Lovejoy slip the diamond into young Jack's pocket. She heard the crack of hand on flesh not long after. And she was there when the young steward walked into the room and told them to put on their lifebelts.
It was the work of a few moments to help the women into their coats, and she and Maggie – Mrs DeWitt Bukater's lady's maid – followed them out onto the deck.
"Go back and turn the heaters on in our rooms," Mrs DeWitt Bukater told them. "I'd like some tea when I return."
"Yes, Ma'am," she said, but she paused near the stairs. They didn't notice her listening closely to Miss Rose talking to Mr Andrews.
"The ship will sink," he said. "In an hour or so, all this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic." His voice was drowned out for a moment as Mr and Mrs Astor walked past. "Get to a boat quickly. Don't wait."
Trudy watched Maggie walking towards the servant's stairs and made her decision. She had to get to the bridge.
It was a big ship – too big. Even with all the seamen running around and no one to stop her from going where she oughtn't, she didn't get a glimpse of Mr Murdoch. William.
Music was drifting over the deck, fighting against the sounds of rising panic. She had to get to a boat, but not without William.
"There's one on the other side letting men on." Lovejoy's voice pierced through the panicked cries. She made her way to the other side, fighting against the wave of people trying to get to a boat. She saw Miss Rose hurrying through, her hand in Jack's, and Trudy watched for a moment before pushing through to the other side.
She could hear William's voice shouting for people to get onto the boats. She'd been starting to feel frozen in her panic, the cold seeping into her bones, but his voice made her warm again, at least for a moment.
"We're too late," she heard Mr Hockley's say as the final boat settled into the water.
No more boats. She'd known, somehow, but the sure knowledge that she would die this night started to sink in.
"There are more boats down the front," Lovejoy said. "Stay with this one. Murdoch. He seems to be quite practical."
Trudy hurried to keep up, the men's long strides eating the distance much faster than she could manage. When she arrived she could hear William calling for women and children, but she would not step forward with Cal Hockley there.
"Anyone else, then?" William asked, and Mr Hockley cursed and turned away.
William faced the water as the boat lowered and she stepped forward. "Will."
He didn't know why he'd accepted the money, except that it would help their new life. And after what Trudy had told him about the man, Cal Hockley could damn well help pay for it. He'd offered a seat, a near –empty boat going to the water, but Hockley had turned away and he'd ordered it lowered.
Then he heard a voice behind him. "Will."
"Trudy!" He glanced behind him and saw her there, as precious as the first time he'd set eyes on her. "Hold the boat!"
The men stopped and he pulled her forward. "Why aren't you on a boat yet?"
"Not without you, Will."
"You must, love, else I'll worry about you."
He wasn't going to survive this night, he knew that, but Trudy would. He pressed himself against her, all the passion and love going into that one kiss because he would have no other, then helped her into the boat.
"Take them down," he said, and he held her eyes as she was lowered to safety.
Trudy knew Will couldn’t have survived. There were the shots from his side of the boat, and she told herself it wasn't him. But even then, madness had descended soon after they reached the water and they could hear the shouts, the splintering wood, the screams as boats tipped over and people fell into the water.
She had not known William Murdoch for long; her time loving him was even shorter. Still, she knew he would not leave when others remained that he could help.
She watched the ship sink into the water and told herself it did not mean so much. She had only known him for four days. But as she tried to block out the sounds of the hundreds in the water she knew that as long as she lived there would not be a day she did not think of William Murdoch.
Miss Rose was on the Carpathia. She turned away when Mr Hockley stepped into the steerage area, and that was when Trudy decided not to approach. Trudy planned to go west, and if Miss Rose wanted a new life as well, then she should have one.
Lady Liberty was as large when they arrived as she had been when they left. Even under the heavy rain she looked the same. But Trudy was different, and it had only taken four days to change her entirely.
Home first; her mother would be worried. And then it would be time to start living.